Südtirol Ultra Skyrace: Let the battle to succeed Daniel Jung begin

Bolzano, 27 July 2017 - For many months 635 mountain runners from 29 countries have been preparing for the Südtirol Ultra Skyrace. The organising committee did everything it could to ensure that the extreme mountain race along the Hufeisen tour in the Sarntal Alps runs like clockwork. Now the waiting is over, not least for last year’s winner Daniel Young from Laces, who is hoping for a repeat victory this year and who believes that a new track record is within his reach.

After three victories in a row by Alexander Rabensteiner, Daniel Jung won the Südtirol Ultra Skyrace for the first time last year. The 34-year old from Laces mastered the 121 kilometres and 7554 m altitude differential along the horseshoe shaped Hufeisen tour in the Sarntal Alps in a new record time of 17:34.37 hours. 12 months on the extreme athlete from South Tyrol is hoping to repeat his victory of last year, but he will face strong competition from Adrian Brennwald from Switzerland. George Piazza had also registered for the Südtirol Ultra Skyrace. The runner from Val Gardena is, however, unable to take his place at the start due to illness.

“My aim, just like in all other Ultra races, is to reach the finish. For the Südtirol Ultra Skyrace that is a major goal, because to my mind, it is still one of the most difficult Ultra races. It is possible that the track record will be broken this year, because the strong competition means that the winner has to give his all right until the end. Whether it will be I who breaks it or someone else, remains to be seen”, said defending champion Jung with a grin.

Gross aims for her fourth victory

In the women’s race, Annemarie Gross is hoping to win the Südtirol Ultra Skyrace for the fourth time in her career. Last year the track record holder (21:57.53 hours) did not run the original distance, but instead started in the Südtirol Sky Marathon where she came second. Then, Irene Senfter from Lana won the Südtirol Ultra Skyrace. This year’s main competitors are Gross, Christiana Follador from Valdobbiadine, Cinzia Bertasa from Bergamo, and Melanie Rousset from France.

Both defending champions are at the start of the Südtirol Skyrace (69 km/3930 m altitude differential) that takes place on Saturday, 29 July at 7:00 am on Prati del Talvera in Bolzano. Anton Eisenstecken from Novacella won the middle distance in 8:27.40 hours, Maria Kenenanter from Sarentino succeeded with 9:56.59 hours. The track records are held by Fulvio Dapit from Italy (7:04.44) and ski mountain climber Anna Figura from Poland (8:50.49).

Hannes Perkmann aims for a record

The Südtirol Sky Marathon first took place in 2016 and was an immediate hit with participants. With a time of 4:01.41 hours Andreas Reiterer just missed the 4-hour limit. The runner from Avelengo will be unable to take part in the race on Forcella di Sarentino this year due to injury, but announced on Facebook that he would cheer for Hannes Perkmann. The local athlete is hoping to beat Reiterer’s best time and is the top favourite to win the 42.2 kilometres race with 2863 m altitude differential.

In the women’s competition Birgit Klammer from Val Gardena won last year with a time of 5:16.04 hours. Last year’s third, Lorenza Bortoluzzi from Sarnonico will also be at the start. The start gun for the Südtirol Sky Marathon will be fired on Saturday, 29 July at 7:30 am, again in the start/finish area on Prati del Talvera.

Intense weekend for the organizers

The organising committee of the ASV Südtirol Ultra Skyrace and the 500 volunteers are looking forward to a very busy weekend. “We have been working hard during the last few weeks to ensure that the event is perfectly organised. Everything is now ready. We are hoping for good weather and that all athletes reach the finish without injury and happy”, explained Chair of the Organising Committee Josef Günther Mair a few hours before the sound of the start gun for the Südtirol Ultra Skyrace 2017. For the participants in the original route of 121 km with an altitude differential of 7554 m, the adventure “Hufeisen tour” already starts on Friday, 28 July, from 8:00 pm at Piazza Walther.

The winners of the Südtirol Ultra Skyrace and the Südtirol Skyrace are expected to arrive at Prati del Talvera in Bolzano on Saturday between 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm. The winner of the Südtirol Sky Marathon will arrive just after 11:00 am in Sarentino.